Explosion forces Sandoval's mom to evacuate

SAN DIEGO – The immense natural gas explosion that killed at least four people, injured many more and destroyed or damaged more than 170 homes in San Bruno, Calif., Thursday night caused the mother of San Francisco Giants third baseman to be evacuated from a home Sandoval is renting.

The Giants were playing a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park at the time of the explosion and Sandoval was unaware that his mother, Amelia, might have been in peril until after the Giants’ 7-3 victory.

“I just found out,” a distressed Sandoval said in the clubhouse after the game. “My family is the most important thing to me.” He took his cell phone into a room off limits to reporters and emerged a short time later, saying, “She’s all right.”

Sandoval, who is from Venezuela, lives in San Bruno with his mother and brother. Michael Sandoval, 29, is a first baseman playing for the San Jose Giants, the Class-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. It was unclear whether Michael Sandoval was with his mother during the evacuation.